Some weeks ago, I was driving home from our local dollar store when a hymn popped into my brain first, then my heart. Surprising because I’d not heard this particular hymn since my youth!
Once
it penetrated my brain and I sang the words aloud, tears ran down my cheeks as
the meaning pierced my heart.
“Are ye able,” said the Master, “to be
crucified with me?”
“Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered, “to
the death we follow Thee.”
Refrain: Lord, we are able. Our spirits are
Thine.
Remold them, make us, Like Thee, divine.
Thy guiding radiance above us shall be
A beacon to God, to love, and loyalty.
I’d
not expected a moment like this after what had been just a quick errand.
When I got home, I sat on the couch and waited for my husband to pause
from his studies. He was filling in for our pastor that upcoming Sunday, so he
was deep in thought. When he glanced up, he asked, “Is there something I can do
for you?” as he always does when pausing in his studies and spotting me sitting
across the way.
“I just wanted to tell you about a hymn that shook me up. I only
remember the first verse and chorus.” I shared that with him. “I’m gonna look
up the rest.”
So, I moved over to where my laptop was, fired it up, and found the hymn.
I read the other verses to Brian.
Are ye able to remember, when a thief lifts
up his eyes,
That his pardoned soul is worthy of a
place in paradise?
Are ye able when the shadows close around
you with the sod,
To believe that spirit triumphs, to
commend your soul to God?
“Are ye able?” Still the Master whispers
down eternity,
And heroic spirits answer now, as then, in
Galilee.
Brian wiped the tears from his cheeks. “I, too, have been thinking about
that, and it’s what the Holy Spirit led me to touch on in this sermon prep.”
I’ve thought a lot about martyrs these past weeks. To have “witnessed”
Charlie’s brought others to my attention. I knew persecution of believers still
happens in our world, but I’d not been abreast to the number of brothers- and
sisters-in-Christ who’ve perished. Then I spotted articles and photos
concerning believers in Nigeria and other countries as well—a staggering number
killed for Christ.
How can this be??? my soul cried out. Then I remembered Jesus’ Words:
“If
the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
If
you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of
the world,
but
I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word
that
I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted
Me,
they
will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
But
all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake,
because
they do not know Him who sent Me.” John 15:18-21
I recalled those who’d been martyred for their faith so very long ago, amongst
them one of my many-times great-grandfather, Dr. Rev. Rowland Taylor*. He was
burned at the stake by the queen known as “Bloody Mary” in 1555. And he wasn’t
alone. No less than 280 believers (men and women) were martyred during Queen
Mary I’s short reign.
I remember, when I learned about this brave ancestor, being taken aback
by his testimony and death. In my DNA is a tiny bit of him. How could I neglect
to stand for Christ, knowing what this many-times great-grandfather endured?
Succumbed to?
Then I had an additional thought. I am blood-bought by the One Who lives
in me still—Who gave His life, sacrificed on a cruel cross. Dead. Buried.
Resurrected!
How could I neglect to stand for He Who endured so much for me? Whose
blood paid the price for my sin? Who lives in me?
This brought me to my knees. Lord, You have told us, since they
persecuted You, they will persecute us also. We believers, then, have targets
on us, so to speak. I have one.
Believers have been targeted in school killings, the first incident I was
acquainted with being Columbine.
So, it’s possible any of us believers might fall for our faith.
What if that happens to me? To us? Again, Jesus’ Words ring out:
“For to me, to
live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
We may be asked to drink from the cup of sacrifice that Jesus also did—pouring
out His Life.
“…Jesus said to them (disciples James
& John),
‘You do not know what you ask.
Are you able to drink the cup that I
drink, and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with?’ They said to
Him, ‘We are able.’”
Mark
10:38-39
Lord, we are able! May this be
our commitment—our prayer. Not only during this week of Reformation Day**
remembrance but every day of the year.
Refrain: Lord, we are able. Our spirits are
Thine.
Remold them, make us, Like Thee, divine.
Thy guiding radiance above us shall be
A beacon to God, to love, and loyalty.
Melody of Are Ye Able is in the
first half of this YouTube video:
Are
Ye Able Said The Master / All The Way My Saviour Leads Me
(“Are Ye Able,” Said the Master by Earl
Marlatt, 1926, public domain)
Historical Christian Persecution
Statistics
More than 70 million
Christians have been martyred in the course of history. More than
half were martyred in the 20th century under communist and fascist
governments (Gordon-Conwell
Resources).
In the 21st century, roughly 100,000
to 160,000 Christians were killed each year (Gordon-Conwell Resources &
World Christian Database).
Roughly 1,093,000 Christians were martyred, worldwide, between 2000
and 2010 (World
Christian Database).
Modern, Global Church Persecution
Statistics: 322 Christians are killed for their faith every month. 214
churches and Christian properties are destroyed every month. 772 forms of
violence (beatings, kidnappings, rape, arrest, etc.) are committed against
Christians every month (Open
Doors).
Christians in more than 60
countries face persecution from their governments or neighbors because of
their faith (United
States Department of State). At least 7,100 Christians were killed for
faith-related reasons in 2015, up from at least 4,344 in 2014 (Open Doors).
(Copied from The
Esther Project—A Voice for the Persecuted Church Internet site.)
#persecutionofbelievers #martyrs #CharlieKirk
#assassination #RowlandTaylor #burnedatstake
#FoxsBookofMartyrs #church #Columbine #missionarymartyrsEcuador
#ReformationDay #JesusSavior
**October
31st, 1517—Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door
of the castle church (catholic at that time)
in
Wittenburg, Germany thus bringing about the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
Photo Credit: Charlie Kirk—religionnews.com, Rowland Taylor—Wikipedia.com,
Ecuador/5 martyrs—blogspot.com, Columbine memorial—USAtoday.com
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